Use of catheters to administer fluids to and draw fluids out of the body has been a standard practice in medical procedures for years. Multiple catheters may be used to connect an extracorporeal circuit to the body during open-heart procedures. The various catheters are simultaneously or sequentially used to provide different functions, for instance, one catheter for delivering a cardioplegia solution to arrest the heart, with another catheter being inserted into the heart to infuse oxygenated blood to the ascending aorta.
One of the developing technologies in medicine at this time is least invasive cardiac surgery. Currently, the two popular methods of least invasive surgery is either on a beating heart, or on a stable heart. The beating heart surgery is typically limited to anterior epicardial revascularization. Specifically, this surgery includes procedures including anastomosis of the left internal mammary artery (LNIA) to the left anterior descending (LAD) artery.
Left ventricular decompression (LVD) and right ventricular decompression (RVD) are popularly used as assist devices, wherein a pump is used to drain the blood from the left ventricle or the right ventricle and delivered into the aorta or pulmonary artery, respectively, so that the myocardium is rested and can recover over a period of time. Assist devices are popularly used as bridges to heart transplants. In some cases, assist devices are used post-operatively to help the myocardium to recover from the shock of myocardial infarction in combination with the stress of open-heart surgery.
The present invention is directed to a catheter system and method for facilitating intracardiac surgery including valvular repair and/or replacement on a beating heart. It is desirable to keep a heart beating where possible to reduce trauma to the heart. There is a desire for procedures including, repair and/or replacement of the mitrial valve located between the left atrium and the left ventricle, and the aortic valve located at the aortic base of the heart. There is also a desire to provide a procedure to repair the tricuspid valve and the pulmonic valve in the right side of the heart.